Shattered Restraint

by Cassandra Lawson

  “That might happen eventually,” Danny admitted. “I’m guessing it won’t be any time soon.”

  “We live a long time,” Cam explained. “That means we think farther out than humans do. There’s also the fact that we didn’t ask permission to move into their territory. Other shifters tried, and the cougars forced them out of the area, but we’ve managed to set up a permanent home.”

  “It sounds like the cougars have good reason not to like us.” Quinn’s statement was met with glares from her cousins. “Don’t look at me like that. How would you feel if another shifter species moved into your territory without permission?”

  “Loath as I am to admit it, I agree with you,” Jase said. “I argued against moving here without gaining the consent of the cougars, but most disagreed with me. I’m pretty sure my father thinks he was wrong about invading the cougar territory like we did—not that he’ll ever say those words out loud.”

  Cam looked at Danny. “You need to understand that there are a lot of issues between the two species. We’re similar, but not enough to make each species accept the other.”

  “So, Quinn would have been treated poorly if Cord had taken her that day,” Danny said angrily. Cord had assured them she’d be treated well.

  “I doubt it,” Jase said. “Cord would have insisted on everyone respecting her. Anything less would have weakened him. A shifter never lets others abuse their mate.”

  “Did you find out why Cord has such a hard on to have you as his mate?” Cam asked.

  “A seer told him taking me as his mate would increase the safety of his clan,” Quinn explained.

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” Jase said thoughtfully as he scratched the back of his head.

  Quinn had no idea how much her uncle had revealed about her heritage, but it seemed it wasn’t much. She’d tell her cousins later. For now, she didn’t understand it herself and needed time to process everything without trying to answer their questions.

  “So, are you going to help?” Danny asked, shifting everyone’s attention from Quinn.

  Cam shrugged. “Looks like we are. Let’s hope I can find Claire. Roger seems to be keeping her in the settlement more and more.”

  Quinn hated how much this must hurt her cousin. Cam may not have said anything to her, but she knew he had strong feelings for the vampire. Although, she couldn’t deny being amused by her cousin getting worked up over a female.

  “What about one of the other vampires who’s on our side?” Danny asked.

  By Cam’s hesitation, Quinn guessed he was using this situation as an excuse to see Claire. Whether he’d accepted it yet or not, Quinn had a feeling Claire was his chosen mate. That was not something that would go over well with her uncle. Nope, Max was going to be angry and demand Cam stay away from Claire. In the end, Quinn had much more faith in her uncle than her cousins did. She was sure he’d come around.

  “I trust Claire,” Cam finally said defensively.

  “We’ll find Claire or one of the others we’ve worked with,” Jase assured them.

  “I’ll go alone,” Cam insisted.

  “No,” Jase said simply. “Your head is off where that vampire is concerned. I don’t need you getting killed during some stupid attempt to see her.”

  “Fine,” Cam spat out and stormed off.

  “Are you sure it’s a good idea for him to be involved in this at all?” Danny asked.

  “It’s a terrible idea,” Jase said. “What do you think the chances are we can get him to stay out of it, though?”

  Danny let out a frustrated sigh. “Pretty bad. I didn’t really understand the mate pull before,” he admitted before looking over at Quinn. “That need to mark your mate and make sure everyone knows she’s yours seemed juvenile when I heard about it.”

  “It is juvenile,” Quinn added.

  Jase just chuckled. “You know, Quinn, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re pushing the vampire to be more aggressive in his claiming of you.”

  Quinn gasped. “That’s ridiculous!” It was ridiculous. She was not a female who wanted a male telling her what to do or controlling her. Nope, she was a strong female who made her own decisions. Then she had to wonder why she was getting aroused thinking about being controlled by Danny. Stupid shifter instincts were messing with her ability to think straight!

  Jase chuckled. “Keep telling yourself that, cousin.” Then he turned to study Danny. “How long are you going to be able to control yourself?”

  “I wouldn’t force her,” Danny said angrily before looking at Quinn. “I swear, I would never take that choice from you.”

  This time, Jase just shook his head. “I hope you’re right. Until then, I suggest you work on reminding my cousin of the many reasons she should accept you as her mate. If you work hard at it, you’ll have Quinn begging you to mark her. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about stupid human romantic crap. Shifter females like dominant males. You need to embrace that side of yourself and let go of some of that restraint. Now, I’d better go make sure my brother doesn’t get himself killed.”

  As Jase walked away, Quinn had a crazy suspicion he was right. Much as she hated to admit it, her shifter side wanted her mate to prove his dominance. Every time Danny dominated her during sex, she practically purred for him. There was a part of her that wanted to fight Danny and see how strong he really was. Then her mage side came to the surface, cooling her desire. Her mage side rejected the idea of him marking her. It was almost like the two sides were at war, and she didn’t know what to do about that.

  “What’s going through that head of yours?” Danny asked as he studied her. “Don’t try telling me nothing. I’m picking up on your arousal and something else I can’t identify.”

  “Nervousness,” she admitted. “I’m still nervous about where things are going with us.”

  “You heard Cord. As long as you’re unmarked, you’re in danger,” Danny reminded her, which made her angry. Why did it always have to come down to marking her?

  “So, you want to mark me for my own protection?” she asked calmly. “My, aren’t you the magnanimous one!”

  Danny grinned at her. “Don’t fall all over yourself thanking me for my generosity. Yes, you are lucky to be offered all of this,” he said gesturing to his body. “If you play your cards right, I’ll even let you scream my name again later.”

  Quinn laughed, and the tension between them faded. “You are a total goof.”

  “It’s one of my best qualities, right?” he asked, slipping an arm around her waist to pull her close.

  “I can think of something else I like more,” Quinn said as she reached out to squeeze his cock.

  “You’re insatiable,” he murmured just before he kissed her.

  Danny was right. With him, she really was insatiable.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Cam had been on edge since they’d set out to search for Claire. After a couple of hours, he’d finally caught her scent. It had been faint, but it was all he had, so he followed the scent to its source with Jase by his side. It was harder to search in human form, but Jase had convinced him that they might need clothes. He suspected Jase was just worried about his control, and he was right to be concerned since they all acted more on instinct in lynx form.

  The source of the scent turned out to be a slender male vampire who had one of Claire’s shirts stuffed in his back pocket. Cam recognized him and the others with him as friends of Claire’s.

  “I wondered how long it would take us to find you,” the male said as they approached. “I’m Nate. We met once before, but you were too focused on Claire to notice me.”

  Jase nodded, and Cam glared.

  “Why are you walking around with Claire’s shirt?” Cam demanded. He didn’t like another male touching her things, mixing his scent with hers.

  “Knock it off,” Jase warned Cam. “Nate’s using the shirt to attract you. He probably knows you regularly stalk Claire.”

  “Yeah,” anoth
er male vampire said with a grin. “We’ve been taking bets on how long it’ll be before you grab her and run. I’m Patrick,” he added.

  “I won’t just grab her,” Cam insisted, hoping he was telling the truth. Even he didn’t always know what he’d do where Claire was concerned. “I know the cause is too important, and she’d never forgive me if I took her away from it.”

  “You should grab her,” Nate insisted. “She’s not safe anymore. If she was smart, she’d be out here asking for your protection.”

  “What do you mean?” Cam demanded.

  “The big meeting in Fangri La is three weeks away,” Nate explained. “That’s if it doesn’t get delayed again. Roger needs Claire for that meeting, but I get the impression he’s never been convinced her loyalties weren’t impacted by her stay with the born vampires. Roger is a crazy bastard who doesn’t trust anyone.”

  “I need to see her,” Cam said.

  Nate shook his head. “Roger isn’t allowing Claire to leave the settlement. We could have gotten her out today, but only if she was leaving for good.”

  “So, she’s a prisoner?” Cam asked angrily.

  “That’s not what Roger calls it,” Patrick said bitterly. “He says it’s for Claire’s own safety, but she’s pretty much confined to the building her room is in.”

  “Then find a way to get me in there,” Cam said.

  “Hell no!” Jase shouted. “You will not endanger your life just to see your female.” Then he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Why the hell am I even trying to talk any sense into you? We’ll see your female, but we need to plan out this trip to the settlement.”

  “Just me,” Cam insisted, even knowing he was going to lose this argument. “I’ll go now.”

  “I’ll give you time alone, but I’m not about to let you walk in there without me for back up. While we’re there, we may as well rescue Cord’s cougars.”

  “Cougars?” Patrick asked excitedly. “So, they aren’t lynx like you?”

  “No, but we’re planning to rescue them anyway,” Jase replied.

  “That should be the easy part,” Nate said. “Roger’s scientist killed himself, so he has no idea what to do with the cougars. He plans to inject them with the Moon virus, but he really wants the cougars that got away from him first.”

  “From my brief encounter with Roger, I’m surprised he isn’t torturing the cougars,” Cam said.

  Nate shrugged. “As near as I can tell, he wants them in good shape when the other cougars try to negotiate for their release or attack us. He’s hoping to trick them into helping him find Danny. Naturally, that resolve won’t last long.”

  “So, the cougars have a temporary reprieve from Roger’s sick games,” Cam said thoughtfully. “That means this is the time to act.”

  “What kind of guard does he have on them?” Jase asked.

  “Minimal because he’s keeping them sedated,” Nate replied. “They’ve only regained consciousness for a few minutes, and they were weak and confused.”

  “Then we should do this in two days,” Jase said.

  “Why not tomorrow?” Patrick asked.

  “Roger doesn’t know much about shifters, so he’ll assume the dosage he used the first time will keep them down,” Jase explained.

  “Only, our bodies build immunity to drugs quickly,” Cam added. “The cougars will be at full-strength two days from now if Roger doesn’t change the drug or increase the dosage.”

  “Get a message to them today so they don’t do anything to let Roger know the drugs aren’t working,” Jase said before adding, “and don’t tell them it’s us coming, or the cougars might not cooperate. Tell them Cord is coming to get them.”

  Nate nodded. “Got it. Meet us back here at noon two days from now. We’re on patrol at that time, so we’ll be able to get out of the settlement without arousing suspicion.”

  Cam was already feeling the familiar excitement racing through his veins. He was going to see Claire in two days. He was going to see his mate. With any luck, he’d be able to convince her of the danger she was in, and she’d be coming home with him.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Convincing Quinn to spend the night with him had been difficult but worth the effort. While he could have stayed in her home from day one, Danny wanted her to accept him on her own terms. He hadn’t liked the idea of invading her home simply because Max wanted him there.

  Slowly but surely, he was breaking down the walls Quinn had built around herself. The problem he had was the nagging suspicion he was running out of time. Part of that stemmed from the fact that he needed to go home. Despite his longing to stay here indefinitely, he had responsibilities. He couldn’t go on pitying himself and avoiding them. Nope, as Ian would say, he needed to man the fuck up.

  “What are you thinking so hard about?” Quinn asked as she stretched like a cat.

  “I was wondering if lynx hibernate because you’ve been sleeping forever,” he said.

  “Ha ha. You are just too funny.” She gave his chest a playful swat.

  “So I’ve been told,” he said with a grin. “I’ve also been told I’m damn sexy.”

  “I’m not contributing to your arrogance,” Quinn said sternly, but it was obvious she was trying not to laugh. She looked more relaxed than he’d seen her since he’d rescued her, and he felt the same sense of peace. Sleeping with Quinn in his arms took the edge off of the agitation caused by not having his mark on her. She also made him happy.

  Kidding around with Quinn, he almost felt like his old self. While he’d joked around some after his change, most of it was staged. This wasn’t exactly a new thing. Danny had been using humor to mask his feelings for the last few months. Now, he was just enjoying himself, and that had a lot to do with the naked woman beside him.

  “You are so fucking beautiful,” he said, reaching out to stroke her cheek. “I love waking up with you.”

  “Is that why you were lying there watching me sleep?” she asked. “Kind of creepy, don’t you think?”

  “Nah, you let me sleep in your bed, which is pretty much like asking me to watch you sleep. It’d be creepy if I snuck into your house to watch you sleep.”

  “Okay, that would be really creepy,” she admitted. “I guess we’re even, since I stayed awake and watched you sleep last night.”

  “Please tell me I didn’t do anything weird.” Once, when he was a kid, Layla had accused him of singing in his sleep. She still wouldn’t tell him if she was making that up or not. It might be true since Mark swore he talked in his sleep.

  “The way you said that makes me think you’ve done something weird in your sleep before,” she said, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

  “I’ve been known to talk in my sleep,” he admitted sheepishly. “Apparently, I say some embarrassing things, and no, I’m not going to tell you what I’ve said.”

  “Not even if I torture it out of you?” she asked.

  “Not even then,” he said, leaning forward to kiss her. It was a quick kiss where he barely teased her lips with his tongue. “You know what’s crazy?”

  “That’s a funny question,” she said. “Is there anything that’s not crazy at the moment?”

  “I guess not,” he admitted. “In this case, I was going to say it’s crazy that I’m not covering my nose because of your morning breath.”

  She covered her mouth and giggled. “That’s what’s on your mind right now? Morning breath?”

  “Obviously, you’ve never been exposed to it if you’re joking like this,” he said.

  “Oh, I was exposed to it alright,” she said. “Even worse, I was exposed to your breath after you’d had far too much to drink the night before.”

  Danny flinched. “That was not my finest moment. I’m surprised I got you in bed again.”

  “You didn’t exactly get me in bed that night,” she reminded him. “I had to get you into bed because you were about ready to pass out.”

  “Whatever. My point is still the same.
Morning breath has always been enough for me to flee the bed. You’d think my nose would be even more offended by it now that I’m a vampire and have a keener sense of smell, but it’s not bothering me.”

  “I don’t think it’s much of a problem for us, although I have no idea why. It might have something to do with our diet. Or, it could be related to the way our body regenerates so quickly. Honestly, I’d never experienced morning breath until that day at your home,” she said.

  “Should I go brush my teeth now?” he asked, feeling somewhat self-conscious. He had to admit that the lack of morning breath made Quinn an even more ideal mate, no matter how dumb that sounded. Then he remembered something. “I don’t even have a toothbrush here. I haven’t brushed my teeth in days.”

  “Your breath is fine, Danny. It seems like your vampire body would work hard to keep your teeth in good condition since you need them. I’ve seen those feral vampires, and their teeth appeared to be in good shape.”

  Danny thought for a moment. “You’re right. I’ve never seen one with rotting teeth, and I’m pretty sure they don’t take a break from rampaging to brush and floss.”

  “Flossing probably isn’t necessary since they have a liquid diet,” she pointed out.

  “Good point,” he said. “We must have some natural antibacterial component to our saliva. That might explain why vampire bites never get infected. Damn, I wish I’d asked more questions about this kind of stuff.”

  Quinn started to speak, but closed her mouth, and Danny was pretty sure it was because she didn’t want to say something to change the mood of their conversation. He didn’t blame her since he’d been more than a little sensitive about vampire stuff.

  “I’m not going to shut down if you tell me I can ask the born vampires when I go home,” he assured her. “I get that I need to go home. Hell, I got it from the beginning, even if I didn’t want to admit it. Now, I’ve just got one problem.”